


Bonded

by hermitpanda



Series: Homo Sapiens Mutata Trilogy [2]
Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: M/M, Shapeshifting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-30
Updated: 2017-01-30
Packaged: 2018-09-20 23:48:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9521474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hermitpanda/pseuds/hermitpanda
Summary: “I know that using your telepathic bond may have some tactical advantages in the field, but in the future, if you’re team is present please use the radio. I know that no one except you on the team is aware that Doctor Reid is a shifter. He’s probably concerned how the team will take it.”Hotch frowned at her. “Excuse me?”Strauss studied him for a moment before responding. “Did Reid not explain the bond to you? All of the benefits that come with it?”





	

**Author's Note:**

> This story is a little bit of a transition from the first to the final of this trilogy. There's no actual shapeshifting in this one. But I promise Reid in wolf form will be back in the third one. :) Enjoy.  
> ~*~ HermitPanda ~*~
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds or the characters. Just borrowing them.
> 
> Dialogue bracketed by ** instead of "" is telepathic, not spoken.

Hotch grabbed Reid’s elbow stopping him from fastening his bullet-proof vest. “I wish you’d stay back. You’ve only been off crutches for three days.”

 

The younger agent studied him with solemn hazel eyes. “Are you saying this as my team leader or as my lover?” He pulled his elbow out of Hotch’s grip and continued securing his vest. 

 

“Both. You still can’t run.” Hotch’s voice dropped to just above a whisper. “In either form. If this raid goes bad, I don’t want you anywhere near it. As your team leader, it makes sense to keep you back. You’re a vital part of this team but not in peak physical form. As your lover, I wish I could keep you away from every raid in the future.”

 

Reid chuckled. “Wow, I didn’t think you’d actually admit it.”

 

“Spencer,” Hotch glared at him.

 

“Compromise?” Reid offered. 

 

“Terms?”

 

“I’ll hang back and won’t go in unless I absolutely have to, but I want to be on site. You don’t want me to get hurt, but I don’t want you to get hurt either. Feeling protective goes both ways, Aaron. Let me be there for the takedown so I can be there for you.” He watched the man consider. They were still trying to find the right balance between personal and professional. Trying to keep the personal completely out of the field and the office hadn’t been successful. The rest of the team had complained about Reid being more twitchy and irritating than usual and Hotch being even sterner and humorless. So now they were tasked with finding how much personal was the right amount of personal to let into their work.

 

Finally, Hotch nodded. “Fine. You stay outside unless absolutely necessary.” They walked over to the others for Hotch to give them orders for the raid. The older man squeezed Spencer’s arm before they separated into different SUVs. 

 

The team was met with the sight of the unsub holding a pistol to a teenage girl’s head standing outside his house. After several shots in their direction, the agents had taken shelter behind the SUVs. Spencer grimaced and leaned his head back. Crouching behind an SUV was making his still healing thigh muscles scream in agony. “Does anyone have a clear shot?” Hotch’s voice asked over the radios. 

 

“Negative. I’d hit the girl,” Morgan responded. The other agents responded in the same way.

 

Spencer turned and peeked around the front end of the SUV. He licked his lips and considered. He was fairly confident that he could make a shot on the unsub. “I’ve got a clear kill shot, Hotch.”

 

“Take it.”

 

Spencer took a deep breath and pulled the trigger. The girl screamed as her captor crumpled behind her. Hotch crossed to him. “You okay?”

 

“Yeah. It had to be done and I was the only one with a clear shot.” The young man nodded, gently massaging his aching thigh. He stayed by the SUV and let the others navigate the rough terrain around the house. He jolted when Morgan stormed over to him followed by the rest of the team. 

 

“What the fuck, Reid? You didn’t say you were taking the shot! You don’t just take a shot like that Reid!”

 

Hotch caught up to him and stepped between them quickly. “I gave him the order to take the shot, Morgan. He said he had it. You heard it on the radio.” 

 

Spencer’s stomach clenched when the rest of the team looked at them confused. “The radio must have cut out or something. I didn’t hear either of you.” Prentiss looked at them with a frown.

 

“I said I had a clear kill shot,” Reid spoke softly.

 

“I was four feet away from you, Spence. I never heard you say anything.” JJ watched him.

 

“No,” he whispered. He looked at Hotch. Tentatively, he reached out mentally towards his boyfriend. He pushed gently against his mind and gasped when Aaron turned and looked at him. “No. Oh god, no. No.” He stumbled backward. He scrambled away from the group as fast as he could manage. He collapsed behind one of the police cars, putting his head in his hands.

 

Aaron crouched in front of him. “Spence? Love, what’s going on? I told you to take the shot. I don’t know why the others didn’t hear you, but I did. Maybe the radios cut out.” He stroked his hands on Spencer’s arms.

 

“I can’t talk about it right now,” the young man groaned.

 

“When?” Aaron inquired softly.

 

“After we get home. I’m not sure. I need a couple days.” Spencer’s voice faltered, and he cursed himself. He knew that the other man would worry about him. He also knew that as soon as Hotch found out about the bond, he’d be rejected and left to die. If he’d been brave enough to tell the other man before the bond had formed, he may have gone along with it. But he’d feel coerced and betrayed that Spencer hadn’t told him before.

 

The Unit Chief watched him quietly. He pushed Spencer’s hair back from his face. “Okay. I don’t like it, but I’ll let you have a couple days.” He stood up silently and walked off. Spencer wanted to whimper watching him go.

 

~*~

 

“Enter,” Hotch called out when someone knocked on his closed office door. He glanced up. “Ma'am, what can I do for you?”

 

Strauss crossed to his visitor’s chair and sat. “I was wondering what has Doctor Reid so distressed. He’s making all the other shifters in the building restless. Even I can’t block him out.” She crossed her ankles, fidgeted, then recrossed them in the other direction.

 

“I don’t know. He won’t talk to me.” Hotch leaned back in his chair with a frown. He retrieved two bottles of water from his mini fridge while he considered what to tell the Section Chief. He offered her one of the bottles. “This last case, when we went to arrest the unsub, he was waiting outside for us holding a teenage girl hostage. He fired on us. I asked if anyone had a clear shot. The only person who did was Reid. He relayed that. I told him to take the shot, and he did. The rest of the team insists that they didn’t hear him or me over the radio. He’s been distracted and tense since.”

 

“Ah.” The woman nodded knowingly. “I know that using your telepathic bond may have some tactical advantages in the field, but in the future, if your team is present please use the radio. I know that no one except you on the team is aware that Doctor Reid is a shifter. He’s probably concerned how the team will take it.” 

 

Hotch frowned at her. “Excuse me?”

 

Strauss studied him for a moment before responding. “Did Reid not explain the bond to you? All of the benefits that come with it?”

 

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about, so I’m going to say that no, he didn’t. Care to enlighten me?” Hotch put his elbows on his desk and leaned forward.

 

She nodded then stood. He watched her close the door then come back. “All shifters have a predestined mate. Someone that fate picks out for them. Once the shifter finds the mate, the bond forms. You are Doctor Reid’s mate, which explains quite a bit actually.”

 

“It does?” He raised a brow at her.

 

“Yes. Other shifters can tell that someone is a mate. Until the person is bonded, there’s this instinctual feeling that makes the shifter wary of them. That is probably the reason why you and I have had our issues and have been so contentious at times. I instinctively knew you were another shifter’s mate.” She took a drink from her bottle of water and allowed him to process what he’d just been told.

 

Hotch tapped his fingers together. It was awkward discussing something that seemed so personal with his superior, but if Spencer wasn’t going to give him this information, he had to ask her his questions. “So what benefits come from this bond?”

 

“Mental telepathy is a big one. Your son should also have the ability to telepathically speak to both you and Reid now. As your son, the bond will consider him Reid’s son. You’ll be able to hold conversations with each other without ever speaking a word. As your bond grows stronger, you’ll be able to converse over longer distances. You’ll also be able to read each other emotionally and physically. You’ll be able to tell what he’s feeling. When he’s ill or injured, you’ll feel that as well. I believe he suffers migraines, yes?” She raised her brows at him. 

 

“Not as frequently as he used to, but yes.” He nodded.

 

“You’ll be able to sense them coming on, possibly even help siphon off some of the pain. It will work both ways and again, include your son. The last advantage will take some practice. You’ll be able to locate him. Consider it your own personal GPS tracker. For instance, right now, I can tell you that my husband is on his way to his dentist appointment. I especially encourage you to develop that skill. It will be very handy for the two of you in the field. How many times has Doctor Reid been kidnapped or held hostage?” She smiled slightly.

 

He rubbed his forehead. “Too many. Why wouldn’t he tell me this? He’s never mentioned bonding in any way. We’ve spent most of our time together since I found out that he’s a shifter.”

 

She glanced out the window towards the bullpen and considered the youngest member of Hotch’s team. “He’s probably scared. A shifter can do nothing to break the bond once it’s formed. They have no choice in the matter. The mate, though, does have a choice. You can walk away at any time. You wouldn’t even have to completely cut off contact with him. Just shun his advances. There won’t be any adverse complications for you, but your rejection would be fatal for him.”

 

Hotch stared at her in horror. “You’re telling me that Spencer would drop dead if I decided I don’t want to be with him?”

 

“Oh, no. He wouldn’t drop dead. It would be much worse. He would pine for you, waste away into death. It would be a slow, agonizing death. I’ve seen it before. It’s awful.” She grimaced. “Luckily, it’s not very common. Fate knows what it’s doing when it picks mates for shifters.”

 

“How do we develop the skills? The telepathic conversations, emotions, tracking?” He stood up and went to the window. His lover was fidgeting at his desk, eyes darting everywhere except the office.

 

She shrugged a shoulder. “It’s instinctual. You’ll have to concentrate at first then it will just happen. It sounds like you’ve been conversing without even realizing.”

 

He nodded. “I can think of a few times it’s happened. Would it have been possible for us to bond before I even knew he was a shifter? The day he was injured at the park when he was protecting me from the dogs, I could hear his voice telling me not to run.”

 

“It’s quite possible. Generally the bond forms from sex, but you two spend so much time together that it could have formed without. I’m surprised you two didn’t bond years ago from the amount of time that you are forced into each other’s company.” Strauss moved to stand beside him.

 

“Thank you for explaining it to me. I’ll talk to Spencer. Hopefully, I can calm him down.” He smiled at her.

 

She nodded. “I shall leave you to it.”

 

Hotch nodded and watched her leave. He waited until she had left the BAU before looking at Spencer. He considered whether to step out of his office and call his boyfriend or test out the bond. He narrowed his eyes slightly as he concentrated. *Spencer, come to my office please.*

 

The young man’s head jerked up. He swallowed and moved through the bullpen. “You wanted to see me?”

 

Aaron smiled and gestured for him to close the door. He took his lover’s hand and pulled him to the couch. “Why didn’t you tell me about shifters having mates?”

 

Spencer hung his head. The older man could feel waves of fear from him. “I knew you wouldn’t like the whole fate thing. I’m sorry. I should have told you. Just… could you give me some time before you reject me? Let me make arrangements for my mom? I never meant to force it on you. I’m sorry.”

 

“It would have been nice to know about it beforehand, but I’m not going to reject you. You’re one of the best things to ever happen to me.” Aaron squeezed his hands until he looked up. “Spencer, I love you. I’m not rejecting you. Now or ever.”

 

“I’m sorry,” Spencer whispered again as the other man pulled him into an embrace.

 

Hotch glanced at the clock. The best way to make the shifter feel secure in their relationship was to force Jack on him. Spencer knew he was unwilling to share his son with anyone he wasn’t serious about. “I know. If you leave in the next ten minutes, you could get to the school in time to pick up Jack. Strauss said that he should be able to do the telepathy thing because he’s included in the bond. So I’ll let you explain that to him. You two can play with that this afternoon.”

 

The young man smiled. “You want me to explain the bond to Jack and figure out how to manipulate it?”

 

“Yes. Go on. I’ll call Jessica.” He brushed his lips across Spencer’s before standing up. “Try not to get into any trouble and make him do his homework.”

 

“Will do.” Spencer grinned standing also. He paused at the door. “Hey, Aaron?”

 

“Yeah?” He glanced up from dialing Jessica’s number.

 

“I love you, too.”

 

~*~

 

“Spencer!” Jack launched himself at the shifter standing outside the middle school. He wrapped his arms around Spencer’s middle and gazes up at him. A frown appeared on his face suddenly. “Wait, are you here because something’s wrong with Dad?”

 

“No, your dad’s fine. Do you want to call him to check?” Spencer reached into his pocket for his phone.

 

Jack shook his head. “Why are you here then? I mean, it’s awesome that you’re picking me up. You make doing homework fun, but you’ve never picked me up before.”

 

Spencer gestured towards the parking lot and kept an arm around Jack as they walked to where he had parked the car. “Aaron sent me to pick you up because we have some stuff to talk about. Not bad,” he said quickly when he saw Jack preparing to ask. “Some furry stuff to talk about.”

 

“Sweet!” Jack breathed out happily and bounded towards the Amazon. He swung his backpack into the backseat next to Spencer’s messenger bag. He buckled his seat belt then turned slightly towards his father’s boyfriend. “We had a sub in science today. Mr. Mays left notes though for us to copy down, and the sub felt the need to read them to us. She pronounced everything wrong. You would have laughed so hard.”

 

“I hope the class wasn’t mean to her. That’s hard filling in for a class you aren’t qualified to teach.” Spencer glanced at him sideways.

 

“Some kids laughed. I just did what you do when you’re trying not to let your face show something. I buried my nose in my book and didn’t look up. Can we stop and get a Slurpee? Please?” Jack asked.

 

Spencer sighed dramatically. “You know how your dad will feel about us getting Slurpees without him. How about I talk him into going for them when he gets home?” 

 

“Sure. We could go out for pizza, too,” Jack looked him sideways.

 

“Any other demands that you want to ask for while you’re at it?” Spencer gave him a disgruntled look. In the time he’d been dating Aaron, it had become apparent that he was susceptible to Jack’s manipulations. The boy knew it and used it to his advantage. Aaron laughed it off saying that as long as Jack’s requests weren’t nefarious, he didn’t mind.

 

Jack grinned. “No. Pizza and a Slurpee is all. For right now. I reserve the right to think of something later.”

 

Spencer laughed and ruffled the boy’s hair. He listened to a recap of his day while they drove to Hotch’s townhouse. He sent a text to his boyfriend about their evening plans while Jack got a snack. “You have much homework?” 

 

“A math worksheet.” He shrugged and sat across from him at the kitchen table. “So, what furry stuff do we have to talk about? Did you and Dad finally figure out that you’re mates?” His eyes sparkled.

 

“What? How do you know about that?” The genius looked at Jack shocked. 

 

“I’ve been reading books about shifters. As soon as I read about how shifters always have a mate, I knew that Dad was your mate. It’s really obvious. You guys have silent conversations all the time and don’t even realize it. And last week when both of you spent a half hour yelling at me for riding outside of my allowed zone on my bike, half of that was mental.” Jack chewed an apple slice thoughtfully. “I haven’t tried talking to you guys yet. I figured that would make you figure it out, and I wanted to see how long you two would be blind.”

Spencer shook his head. “Are you sure you’re only 11?”

 

Jack grinned at him. “I’m just awesomely smart that way.”

 

“Sometimes you remind me of me. Except better adjusted.” The man shook his head and stole a slice of apple off Jack’s plate. “Aaron sent me to pick you up so we could talk about the bond and maybe work on using it.”

 

“Cool.” Somehow Jack’s grin got even bigger. 

 

“Homework, then we’ll see how good you are at telepathy.” Spencer laughed.

 

Jack nodded and carried his plate to the sink. He settled back at the table with his math worksheet. Spencer flipped through a book while he waited for Jack to announce that he was done or request help. He glanced up when he heard Jack in his head. *Done! Will you check my answers?* The boy was grinning at him, holding out the worksheet.

 

*Of course.* Spencer took the paper and quickly read through it. He slid it across the table with his finger on a problem. *That one’s wrong. Do it over. From the beginning.*

 

Jack grimaced. He frowned at the paper and erased what he had written. He carefully reread it problem, working through it. *Did I do it right this time?*

 

*Yes, good job. What do you want to do now?* Spencer pushed up from the table.

 

The boy considered while he put away the worksheet and prepped his backpack for the next day. He padded out of the kitchen before responding. He wanted to test if he could communicate from another room. He waited till he was hanging his backpack on the hook by the front door. *Can we go to the bookstore then meet Dad at work?*

 

Spencer smiled. *Fine.*

 

*Hey, can I try talking to Dad this way? Like from here? To tell him that we’ll meet him at his office?* Jack appeared in the doorway with an eager expression on his face.

 

*If you want to try, go for it. I don’t know if it will work this soon yet.* Spencer gave his assent. He leaned on the counter and crossed his arms to watch the boy.

 

Jack closed his eyes and concentrated on his father. *Hey Dad?* 

 

*Jack? Where are you?* Hotch’s response made the boy whoop.

 

*At home! We’re going to the bookstore then meeting you at work!* Jack happy danced around the kitchen.

 

Spencer laughed. *He wants pizza and Slurpees.*

 

*Fine. Give me a warning when you are on your way so I can be ready when you get here.*

 

*Awesome! Let’s go!* Jack held out Spencer’s messenger bag.

 

~*~

 

“Hello, Doctor Reid. How are you?” A voice to his left pulled him out of the young adult book he was flipping through.

 

He glanced up and looked at Strauss. “Ma'am, hello. I’m fine. How are you?” He smiled. He closed the book and placed it on a pile on the shelf. He took another book from Jack.

 

“Fine. Is this Agent Hotchner’s son?” She smiled at Jack.

 

“Yes, ma'am. This is Jack. Jack, this is Section Chief Erin Strauss. She’s your dad’s boss.” Spencer introduced. Jack extended his hand to the woman and exchanged the pleasantries that his father and aunt had trained him to use when meeting strangers. When Strauss’ eyes flicked to the book in his hands, Spencer smiled. “Jack reads several years above his age level. Aaron has me read them first to make sure they’re appropriate subject-wise for him.”

 

She chuckled. “A very good use of your skills, I believe. Where is Agent Hotchner?”

 

“Spy novels.” Reid pointed across the store. 

 

She looked in the direction he was pointing and saw the Unit Chief accumulating his own pile of books. “Things are good between you? I’ve noticed you’re not making everyone antsy at the office anymore.”

 

“We’re good. Really good.” Spencer smiled.

 

“Good. If the three of you aren’t busy, I’d like it very much if you could come to my house for dinner this evening. My oldest daughter is home for a few days. It might be nice for Hotch to speak to my husband and for Jack to talk to my daughter about what it’s like being near a shifter.” The Section Chief smiled warmly.

 

“Uh, I’m not sure what we’re doing tonight.” The younger shifter was taken aback by her offer. *Strauss wants you, me, and Jack to go to her house for dinner tonight. Want to?*

 

Aaron’s head lifted from the book he was studying. His gaze found them. *Sure, I suppose. Did we fall into the Twilight Zone?*

 

Spencer ignored his question. “We’d love to ma'am. Is there something you’d like for us to bring?”

 

“No, I have it all covered. Agent Hotchner knows where I live. I’ll see you at seven. It was nice meeting you, Jack.” She smiled and walked away.

 

Jack poked the book Spencer was holding. “That’s the last one I picked out. I’m getting hungry.”

 

“Of course, you are.” Spencer opened the book. He heard Jack tell his father telepathically that they were almost done and that he wanted chili cheese fries for lunch. He smiled content and happy with the family that fate had picked out for him.

 


End file.
